This Saturday, as the sun set over Newlands, Australia’s cricketers were just coming to terms with the realisation that they had been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

You can read the latest on that here, but let’s turn our attention to what happened just up the road.

During the Super Rugby clash between the Stormers and the Reds, from Queensland, prop Taniela Tupou dished out a brutal hit on Stormers winger Craig Barry.

Big hits are fine, but this one is straight out of the ‘Butch James No Arms In The Tackle’ playbook.

We joke, Butch, but good luck trying not to wince when you see the replay at the 40-second mark:

That’s filthy.

Given how clearly the replay shows the incident, you would expect the rule book to be thrown at the prop. Nah – here’s the Sydney Morning Herald:

Queensland Reds and Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou has escaped with an official warning for a late tackle in the Super Rugby loss to the Stormers.

Tupou fronted a SANZAAR Judicial Committee on Tuesday over his tackle…

He had been charged with contravening law 9.13: “A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously”, but was ultimately found guilty of breaking Law 9.11 – “Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others”.

However, the panel deemed his tackle fell short of the red card threshold required for a suspension.

Look, I love a big hit as much as the next red-blooded rugby fan, but that’s the kind of hit that can end a guy’s career.

Remember this red card for Stormers winger Leolin Zas after he slipped when attempting to take a high ball?

Fine, dish out the red, but all fans ask for is a little consistency. Naas and Nick Mallet weren’t impressed in the SuperSport studios:

“I do not know how this foul went unpunished. It was impossible for all four (referee, two assistant referees and the television match official) to miss it,” Mallett said.

“It was a clear-cut red. There was no argument. It was a straight-forward decision. Red card,” Botha believed.

That SANZAAR Judicial Committee has dropped the ball with this one.

[sources:smh&sport24]